Rachel Woodhouse: Championing Diverse Voices & Experiences in a Certified LGBT Business Enterprise®

Dyer Brown & Associates wins the 2022 Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) Leadership Award

BOSTON- Certified through the Washington, D.C.-based National LGBT Chamber of Commerce (NGLCC) through its Supplier Diversity Initiative, the national architecture and interior design firm Dyer Brown & Associates (Dyer Brown) leads in its professional fields in a business environment that increasingly values diversity and seeks out certified LGBTBE (Lesbian/Gay/Bi/Trans Business Enterprise) service providers. The firm has been recognized by the NGLCC as a Certified LGBT Business Enterprise® since 2020 as part of its commitment to championing diverse voices and experiences.

Recognized nationally for its award-winning portfolio of architecture and interior design projects, Dyer Brown offers a fully integrated suite of professional services including high-level building owner and corporate advisory as well as 3D concept visualization. The firm’s clients range from property owners, developers and end-users to global corporations and leading regional brands in such market sectors as workplace, retail, hospitality and higher education. Known for its unwavering commitment to both design excellence and client service, the firm’s team of 50 professionals approach each project and task through three lenses: design first, sustainability and diversity.

When asked about their philosophy and ethos, Dyer Brown says that it believes that buildings and spaces are the backdrop to daily, shared experiences, and so should always be inspiring, useful and enjoyable – a philosophy that has helped forge long-lasting relationships with business executives, building owners, brokers, and institutional leaders.

Recent works of note from the firm include a major renovation and brand refresh for The Langham, Boston hotel; a multi-year, multi-property real estate portfolio consolidation and workplace design and strategy project for Manulife, complete with sleek new amenities; and the design of a new headquarters for Quickbase, Inc., an effort that included a complete suite of design-integrated services: workplace strategy, environmental graphics, furniture selection, and change management consultation. Other recent works include the design of headquarters for both Valo Health and Sappi North America, and architecture for Time Out Market Boston.

An interior designer by training, Dyer Brown’s Principal and Director of Operations Rachel Woodhouse has over 20 years of experience serving the institutional and corporate markets. Relocating from Iowa to Boston in 1999 to attend the Boston Architectural College, she earned a Master of Interior Design degree in 2004, after which she served for several years as a practice curriculum advisor and a thesis advisor at the school while working fulltime, first for Miller Dyer Spears and then for IA Interior Architects. She joined Dyer Brown & Associates as a Senior Project Manager in 2008, rising to Associate Principal and Director of Operations in 2012 and then to Principal in 2015. In 2018, Woodhouse and President Brent Zeigler assumed ownership of the firm as Partners.

In her role as Director of Operations, Woodhouse focuses on firm management, refining its processes and ensuring consistent and appropriate staffing to ensure industry-leading client service. Woodhouse plays a key role in successfully integrating new designers into Dyer Brown’s close-knit culture, while managing the organizational complexity of an ever-evolving firm and emphasizing transparency of leadership. She also serves as Director of Change Management, guiding the firm’s development and implementation of design-integrated communications consultation for corporate clients undergoing major workplace transitions.

When asked about its five-year growth plan by the Boston Real Estate Times, Dyer Brown had this to say: “We believe that design excellence has been the key to our success for the past 50-plus years, and that the best way to continue to lead and innovate is to draw from the largest and most diverse pool of talented designers possible. Over the next five years we will work to strengthen our relationships with organizations like the nonprofit Private Industry Council and the Dearborn STEM Academy, aiming to increase opportunities for students interested in architecture and design. We believe this will benefit not only Dyer Brown & Associates but also the local and regional AEC professions more broadly.”